1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to access ladders for swimming pools, and the like, and more particularly, to a ladder pivotally mounted at the side of a swimming pool for being positioned either in or out of the interior portions of the pool.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Ladders positioned at the exterior walls of swimming pools to allow ingress and egress of the users of the pools are common in the art. In such cases, one end of the ladder is usually permanently mounted, by means of bolts or other such devices, into the deck immediately adjacent to the exterior walls of the pool. The ladder is then constructed in such a manner as to extend over the deck and down into the pool. The other end of the ladder is positioned below the level normally attained by water in the pool. This lower end of the ladder is either permanently mounted to the adjacent wall of the pool or at least arranged to be in contact with the wall to thus support a person attempting to enter or leave the pool by way of the ladder.
Ladders, such as the one just described, present problems with regard to cleaning, refinishing, covering and winterizing the swimming pool. Although, any problems encountered as a result of the presence of the ladder in the interior of the pool may be met by either working around the ladder or unfastening the permanent mountings of the ladder, these solutions still result in unattained goals. In the cases of refinishing, winterizing or any other process generally performed only once in a season, removing the ladder represents a manageable but undesirable solution to the problem. Certainly, when performing such frequently necessary operations as cleaning and covering the pool, unfastening a permanently mounted ladder becomes an extremely unattractive solution.
Particularly with regard to a flexible, unrollable swimming pool cover as described more fully in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 343,355 filed Mar. 21, 1973, a permanently mounted ladder extending into the pool presents problems in attempting to unroll the cover to effectively prevent pollution of the water in the pool.